The Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) is a process established by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Established in 1999, it was set up to help people resolve domain name disputes. Since its inception, more than 60,000 domain complaints have been filed with the UDRP. Domain name disputes, specifically as it relates to unauthorized trademark usage has become a growing problem over the years. Often, companies will start out buying the most valuable top level domain name (TLD), such as a .com. But, they will frequently forego variations of that TLD due to budgeting constraints. As their brand grows, other users will sometimes snap up these other domain names and use the goodwill associated with the original company’s brand to generate revenue for themselves. Unapproved domain names such as these can be used to promote pay-per-click, competing for websites, inappropriate content, viruses, and even employment scams. All of these potential situations can end up damaging the reputation and/or goodwill of the legitimate business and brand owner. Without UDRP actions, a website owner is essentially stuck chasing a domain owner that can effectively dodge services and continue to wreak havoc. This is where the UDRP comes in handy.

The UDRP allows owners to file a complaint, and if successful, have a domain name transferred, canceled or suspended fairly inexpensively. The policies in place are typically favorable to the original trademark owners and are the oldest and most popular policies. When disputes arise, trademark owners have won more than 85% of their cases.

Prior to UDRP, the majority of trademark-based domain-name disputes had to be resolved by agreement, court action, or arbitration before a registrar would agree to cancel, suspend, or transfer a domain name. Disputes that arise from abusive registrations of domain names (For example, cybersquatting, where an individual holds the rights to a well-known name for no other reason than a potential resale profit) may be addressed by expedited proceedings. The trademark holder initiates this by filing a complaint with an approved dispute-resolution service provider.

To utilize the policy, a trademark owner should either

file a complaint in a court of proper jurisdiction against the domain-name holder

in instances of abusive registration submit a complaint to an approved dispute-resolution service provider

A trademark attorney experienced in UDRP complaints can help resolve these matters for you. For example, if someone is cybersquatting your domain, an attorney can locate the registrant and resolve their competing practices with determination. They can also sue under the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (“ACPA”). They can also use ICANN and avoid litigation by, any person that alleges that a domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark where they have rights. This also applies when the domain name owner has no legitimate interest in the domain name, and the domain was registered and is being used in bad faith.

While the frustration of a domain dispute can feel overwhelming, consulting legal advice can ease the process. Intellectual property legal counsel will advise you on the best course of action to protect and defend the assets you worked hard to create.

Terminating an employee is one of those uncomfortable topics that no employer wants to deal with, but every employer will likely experience at some point. It is common to encounter employees who are not the best fit and sometimes flat-out difficult to work with. Disgruntled employees can cause quite the mess for business owners, especially if terms were not explained clearly during hiring, or not addressed completely at termination. It’s important to remember that there is a difference between employment laws in your state vs federal employment laws, so always consult both and adhere to your state’s requirements. If in doubt, call your lawyer. Below are five general strategies to help you effectively terminate an employee.

Know When It Is Illegal to Fire

The majority of states apply an at-will default employment status to employees (see below). While at-will status does allow you to terminate for pretty much any reason at all, you cannot under any circumstances fire an employee for an illegal reason. Generally, if you fire someone because of their age, race, gender, gender identity (in states like California), sexual orientation, religion or disability, the termination will likely be deemed illegal due to unlawful discrimination. Additionally, if you employ a certain number of employees, some states require you allow them to take a leave of absence for family, medical, or military purposes. This also goes for allowing your employees to vote, and you cannot terminate someone for reporting potentially illegal activity. This is called retaliation. Again, each state has its own set of regulations that interplay with the federal ones, so it’s important you either know how both work, or contact your attorney to make sure you’re not terminating an employee in violation of the law.

Understand Whether Your Employees are At-Will or NotAs previously mentioned, many states’ default employment status is “at-will.” “At-will” employment means an employer can terminate at any time, for any reason, or even without one. Every state (excluding Montana) allows employers the option of using this policy, and may even be the default without something in writing to the contrary. When making an offer of employment, it’s important to not put anything in writing that could lead an employee to believe they have an employment contract that supersedes the default at-will policy. An at-will policy allows the employer more flexibility in terms of terminating employees when it deems necessary.

Document Performance IssuesEven with an existing “at-will” policy, it can be crucial for employers to keep an accurate record of any and all performance issues and performance reviews at the time of occurrence. Creating a history of events to pull from when terminating will often help employers defeat any potential claims that the termination was unlawful. Performance issues can include but aren’t always limited to, absenteeism, tardiness, client service issues, behavior requiring disciplinary action and interventions. Keeping this kind of documentation in an employee’s file is a great way to stay protected and aid you in the actual termination process. Sometimes, significant performance issues warrant termination for cause, as opposed to at-will, which can be provided to the employee in writing.

Understand Employee Rights Post-TerminationEmployees may be entitled to certain benefits, even after termination. This may include but is not guaranteed to include, a continuation of medical coverage, unemployment insurance, and a vested retirement plan.

If you have 20 or more employees, the federal law enforces COBRA. If you maintain a group health plan, you are required to provide coverage for spouses, dependents and the terminated employee. If you employ under 20 people, check with your state on the requirements. If an employee is eligible for unemployment insurance, you are often required by law to make them aware of their eligibility.

Pay All Wages/Benefits Due to Terminated EmployeesEmployers must pay employees their earned, unpaid wages when terminating them. You cannot simply refuse to pay the employee what they’re owed, because they no longer work for you. However, the laws regarding precisely when an employee needs to be paid vary depending on the state you are in. In some states, you are not required by federal law to give a final paycheck immediately at termination, sometimes including unused vacation days. However, in some states, like California, all earned, unpaid wages are due at the time of termination if the employer is the one terminating. If the employee gives no notice and quits, the employer has 72 hours to make the payment. This is why it’s always important you either know the laws yourself or have a specialist (like a lawyer or human resource worker) guide you on your state’s regulations.

Contracts are an inevitable part of doing business. They protect both the business as well as the other party to the contract. When considering contracting with another party, it’s always advisable to consult an attorney and avoid DIY contracts. Sure, you can find templates online or skim read through a document and hope for the best, but chances are you won’t be entirely sure you’ve got a good contract, and that is not a risk worth taking.

Quality attorneys know how to create agreements that both communicate the specific intent of the parties as well as avoid any potential ambiguities. This helps create a solid understanding and prevents disputes over what the parties “really meant” later on down the road. This is critically important when being asked to sign a contract. If you don’t exactly know what certain provisions say, but you sign anyway, you will still be held to those provisions. Lack of understanding is not a reason to cancel or modify an agreement. More often than not, caveat emptor or buyer beware applies.

Having good legal counsel on board prior to the execution step is also important because it will help you better set each party’s expectations before it becomes time to sign. The last thing anyone wants is a bunch of eleventh-hour changes because you didn’t run it by your attorney first. An attorney has trained for the unexpected moments and can offer guidance relating to problem areas and ensure your interests are protected.

There are countless reasons why including your lawyer in the contract review process is important and helpful, whether you are presenting it to another party or are on the verge of signing yourself. A business attorney is seasoned in the world of contracts and the investment could save you from future legal disputes and potential loss.

One of the hottest trends in information consumption comes in the form of e-books. Almost every time you are online you see a new one surface regarding how to build an online business, a newly released memoir, or even a recipe book. With all this information readily available online – not to mention easy to copy – how do you keep your original content protected yet still available? Copyrighting your materials can help prevent theft from being a part of your story.

Writing any kind of book takes hours of hard work, research, and crafting. The minute it is posted to the internet, it is at risk for infringement. We see this issue frequently, and if you are posting content you created to the internet, it should be protected. The only way to solidify your ownership is by way of a registered copyright. Copyright is an incredibly complex area of the law. But very basically, it allows an owner (or his/her authorized representative) of original materials to exploit (publish, profit from, perform, print, record, etc.) that material.

An owner of the original material does not need to register his/her copyright. Copyright exists as soon as the original material becomes fixed in a tangible medium. However, federal registration solidifies that ownership. Registration creates a constructive notice and permits an owner to assert his/her ownership rights against another person (i.e., in court). Whereas simply claiming copyright ownership only prevents copying. In short, without registration, owners are left with very little “teeth” to bite back against people stealing from them. Moreover, a federal registration acts as proof that you, in fact, own the work, whereas, without it, you’d be required to prove (with evidence) that you created the work first (i.e., before the theft occurred). While this seems easy, sometimes it can be challenging, particularly if the competing works were published close in time.

Traditionally, publishing houses would register the copyright on behalf of the owner, per the publishing contract. However, now that self-publishing has become increasingly popular, it is often left to the owner to register the work(s) themselves. This isn’t always readily apparent or disclosed by self-publishing companies and can leave owners exposed without even realizing it.

Copyright disputes often become expensive very quickly. It pays to protect yourself early-on, as federal copyright registration is relatively inexpensive. Unsure about your original work? Consult an attorney that specializes in copyright today.

Discrimination is illegal in the workplace and something every employer needs to be aware of. There are both federal and state laws in place that address issues of discrimination and employers should take not to ensure they’re not getting themselves into any hot water. Generally speaking, employers should avoid discrimination based on sexual orientation, religion, disability, gender or ethnicity while hiring, firing, promoting, or determining compensation. Employment laws are tricky, and no one industry is treated identically to another. Similarly, federal and state laws often require different things, so it’s important to speak with a well-versed employment attorney to help your business made these crucial decisions. Below are some overall guidelines to help keep you out of trouble.

One of the first things you can do to get ahead of potential discrimination claims is to learn your Federal and state’s EEO (that’s equal employment opportunity) laws and general anti-harassment policies. Then make sure these policies are implemented somewhere in your business (preferably in writing). Train your Human Resources team on key policies so they can see them through from hiring to exiting. Implement a non-negotiable workplace standard and train all managers, supervisors, and entry level employees on the guidelines and hold every person accountable, including yourself. Promote an inclusive workplace environment where differences are approached with professionalism and respect. Also, it always helps to have an employment handbook for companies with any number of employees, so the policies are clear and everyone understands what they are. Make sure to do a review once a year to ensure you’ve kept up to date with any changes in the laws.

When hiring, implement practices designed to diversify your pool of candidates. If you are using an outside agency for hiring, make sure they do not search for candidates based on gender or ethnicity. If you make that request, both you and the employment agency would be liable in the face of a dispute. Create objective qualification standards for open positions and follow through to make sure they are applied for every single applicant. The same applies for promotions. When the opportunity arises, communicate with all eligible employees and communicate openly what the exact criteria is to avoid confusion.

When the time comes for annual performance reviews, make sure they’re based on job performance and pay close attention, so you can detect patters of potential discrimination. This means ensuring raises are not significantly higher for one person and significantly lower for another based on anything but their work ethic. You can set these standards from the beginning to keep these consistent amongst all employees.

There are so many ways to avoid discrimination, but the easiest is to talk about it. Host diversity and anti-discrimination training, open conversation and stay aware of what is happening in your business. It is important to keep your workplace safe and strong on its policies against discrimination. There is much more to gain by keeping your workplace open to all, and even more to lose by inviting in any discrimination.

The idea of a white lie or exaggeration might be acceptable when it comes to complimenting a friend’s unfortunate haircut but, there’s no grey area when it comes to false and/or misleading advertisement. Now that we are social media centered in our marketing and advertisement, avoiding posts that are misleading or just plain false is critical, and it also applies to those that post for you. We’ve compiled an easy to reference list that can help keep your posts on the truthful straight-and-narrow both now and in the future when introducing a new product or service to the internet.

Five ways you can avoid a false advertisement claim on social media:

Keep it honest and avoid dramatics in your advertisement language, unless you can back it up with real evidence. Don’t fluff up a product or service and end up misleading consumers. If you are in the wellness community, be wary of making definitive statements without reliable medical backing. The recent Goop lawsuit is a great example showing the importance of marrying products and factual information.

Utilizing influencers is a great way to gain exposure and grow your business. Monitoring your brand and policing what is said on your behalf is an important business practice. Statements made by influencers or consumers online who are representing you need to be true and not include misleading information. If endorsers are receiving a gift, payment or any incentive, it needs to be disclosed to followers. (When in doubt, hashtag it out. #ad #sponsored) It’s recommended to have a blogger policy linked on your website and keep endorsements updated.

Document all efforts of guidelines and police false information. It’s a, “better safe than sorry” situation. If you see false advertising on your behalf, reach out with clarification and instruction on how to resolve this falsified information, and save this exchange. If you end up in a worst case scenario, you have records of your efforts and attempt to follow guidelines on your side.

Avoid a defamation claim and don’t criticize competitors in efforts to boost your ratings. In light of apps like Yelp, we have become obsessed with reviews, whether they are negative or positive. You may feel tempted to knock your competitors down a peg by paying for negative reviews, but this is a form of false advertisement. If you do decide to proceed with a forum for consumers to review competitors’ products or services, monitor it closely. You can be liable for the information you did not create, so set guidelines and be certain reviewers are staying within them.

Make sure your payment policies and guidelines stay consistent and easy to understand. For example: If you are requiring a monthly payment from consumers for $50.50, don’t surprise them with a hidden cost of $110 for annual membership fees, unless this is clearly stated from the beginning. This would classify as false advertisement and a quick way to get into trouble is taking money unannounced.

The key to keeping the truth at the center of advertisement is over-communicating guidelines to your employees and any endorsers. Make this your top priority. Protect your brand by doing your research and following up on who is representing it. These are simple steps to reduce your risk of lawsuits, defamation claims, or having regulators knock on your door.

A business entity formed for the purposes of housing a business, property, or even intellectual property. Business entities, like an LLC, are created or formed at a state level, often the applicable Secretary of State. They vary depending on your business structure, so it is important to know where your business fits. Generally speaking, there are four types of entities to choose from:

LLC

A Limited Liability Company, aka LLC, is a business entity recognized in all U.S. states. An LLC has some of the benefits of both a sole proprietorship and a corporation – from both a taxation as well as legal standpoint. It allows the owner to file a simpler tax return, and also limits the owner’s liability like a corporation.

When most people think about setting up a formal business entity, they almost always first think of an LLC, because of an LLC’s reputation of being “easier” overall to run. But, always consult your accountant or CPA before selecting this entity, as it may not give you the tax benefits you were hoping for. From a legal standpoint, an LLC does get you the limited liability most people want in a formal entity.

Conversely, sole proprietorships are subject to unlimited liability. This means that in the event your business ever ends up in hot water from a legal perspective, all your assets – including the owner’s personal assets – are on the hook. On the other hand, most formal business entities carry the added benefit of “limited liability,” meaning that the owners of the company won’t be personally liable for any legal missteps the company makes.

An LLC is easier to form over a corporation because no by-laws or corporate charter is required. Also, LLCs are creatures of contract, meaning however the members -or owners- of an LLC agree to run the LLC will govern. Typically, this is handled by way of an operating agreement, effectively the governing document of the LLC.

Operating agreements are considered more flexible than corporate bylaws, which is why some prefer LLCs to corporations. Additionally, there are no meeting requirements imposed by statute like there are with corporations. Nevertheless, An LLC is still watched closely by state and federal agencies to make sure it is being operated separately from the owners’ personal financial and tax lives.

There are two types of LLCs: domestic and foreign. If you form an LLC in the state which you plan to conduct business, you are forming a domestic LLC. If your LLC does business in another state, but is registered in your home state, you may wish to register your LLC as a foreign LLC in the states in which you are transacting business aside from the home state.

Corporations

Corporations are businesses that are separate and distinct from their owners. Corporations are comprised of shareholders, and typically a board of directors, but it’s the shareholders who own the corporation. Shares can be held by a few individuals, or they might be offered for sale to the public, making them “publicly held”. Corporations are either non-profit or a for-profit business. They can also be formed for a specific short-term purpose.

There are two basictypes of corporations; those with stock and those without no stock. Corporations can also be C-corporations and S-corporations. Most people worry about setting up a corporation because of the dreaded “double-taxation.” However, S-Corporations (referring to Subchapter S of the tax code) are not subject to double taxation. If a corporation issues no stock, most likely it will be a non-profit corporation. Corporations are considered older, more traditional business structures.

They’re less likely to be audited by the IRS, and are often the preferred structure for investors. There are annual meeting requirements imposed by statute, but these are relatively straightforward and painless, depending on the number of shareholders.

Sole proprietorships

A sole proprietorship is an unincorporated business owned by one individual. It is the simplest form of business to start and operate. It is also the most popular form of ownership, with over 20 million sole proprietorships operating in the U.S. and Canada.

Unlike an incorporated business or a partnership there is no legal separation between the business and the owner for a sole proprietorship – the business is an extension of the owner and so the owner is personally responsible for any debts or liabilities the business creates.

If you operate your business under your own name, with no additions, you don’t even need to register your business name to begin operating. This is an ideal choice for business startups, self-employed contractors, part-time and home-based businesses. You own 100% of the business and get to make all the decisions. You’re also not required to hold shareholders’ meetings or take votes on management issues. Basically, you get full control!

Unfortunately, some businesses, government agencies, and consulting groups will not work with unincorporated businesses suggesting their legitimacy or professionalism fall at a lower level. You can also run into difficulties raising capital or selling your business. As with anything in business, there are pros and cons.

A business partnership is a specific kind of legal relationship formed between two or more individuals to operate a business as co-owners. Each partner is an owner of the business who have invested their time and/or capital in some way. Some partners work in the business, while other partners have limited participation, and even limited liability for the debts or lawsuits.

Generally speaking, a partnership is not a separate entity from the individual owners. The income tax is paid by the partnership, but the profits and losses are divided and paid by partners based on their initial agreement. They are referred to as a pass-through business, meaning the profits and losses of the business pass through to the owners.

However, some types of partnerships need to be registered with the applicable secretary of state. Partnerships almost always use an agreement to clarify the relationship between the partners, the roles, responsibilities, and their respective shares in the profits or losses of the partnership. This is known as a “partnership agreement.”

Before you start a partnership, you will need to decide what type of partnership you want, and this can be tricky as the different types of partnerships impute different liability/participation to the partners.

How do you know which one is right for you?

Whatever business entity you ultimately choose will shape your journey as a business, and choosing the best structure for your company requires time and consideration. Each business entity comes with its own pros and cons. The key is to figure out which structure gives your business the proper advantages to help you achieve your personal and financial goals.

A formal setup and proper partnership/corporate documents are vital to the structure and function of your business. Without knowing your options you could miss out on an opportunity to establish yourself best as possible, contributing to a long-lasting and successful business from the very beginning.

Creating a protectable brand is at the heart of any startup business. Not only should your brand be marketable, it should also be protectable under trademark laws. The easiest way to know your brand meets both criteria is creating a strong brand. That starts with your name.

Naming your business is an important first step and the foundation you build from. If you choose a weak brand name, your chances of protection are low. So what constitutes a strong brand name? How do you gain exclusive trademark rights?

Trademark protection will provide a type of safety net for your business or services. If you are in the beginning stages of branding, these four trademark categories will help you gauge exactly how strong your brand is.

A Generic Trademark

A generic trademark is a trademark or brand name that, due to its popularity or significance, has become the generic name of – or synonymous with – a general class of product or service. Did you know the trampoline was originally intended to be sold by a single individual, Larry Griswold?

Without specific language it is nearly impossible to protect that form of branding – usually against the wishes of the business holder. Nowadays anyone can create and sell a trampoline. You don’t want to be the next Larry.

To know how best to choose your brand and then to protect it, it is an excellent idea to consult the professionals. They can help you find the best distinctive brand so that once you create it, you know you can protect it.

A Descriptive Trademark

A descriptive trademark is a word that identifies the characteristics of the product or service. It is similar to an adjective. An example would be “cold and creamy” for an ice cream business. An easy way to determine your trademark would be to ask yourself, “Does this word describe the product or service?” If the answer is yes, the mark is probably descriptive.

They are conceptually weak and hard to enforce, so are usually unprotectable from competitors.

They are expensive to defend, because they are weak.

The time and money involved to register a descriptive mark (if you succeed) is high.

Descriptive marks don’t have a high sale value if you decide to sell/license the trademark or business.

Of course, there are exceptions to the rule: American Airlines gained entitlement to a trademark because they had an established business and had proven their value in association to the trademark.

So unless you have been in a well-established business for a long time and can prove credibility, or your name is Kardashian, descriptive trademarks are not ideal.

A Suggestive Trademark

A suggestive trademark is a distinctive – but not descriptive – mark which does not describe a product, but suggests or references it. This requires consumers to exercise imagination to connect the mark with the product.

“7-Eleven” is a great reference to a suggestive trademark. They are a convenience store that was initially open from 7 AM – 11 PM. Another example is Greyhound Bus, which suggests the service is fast, like a greyhound dog (which is their logo). These both reflect what the mark is or does with a little creativity.

A Fanciful Trademark

A fanciful trademark is when names and brands are not associated with any meaning until the launch of their company. “Starbucks” is the perfect example of this. They took a word not commonly in existence prior to use of the brand. Now everyone knows what you are referencing when they hear it.

An Arbitrary Trademark

An arbitrary trademark is a common-knowledge English word used to describe a product that doesn’t have any connection to the common definition. “Apple” is an arbitrary trademark because their product has nothing to do with the actual word “apple.”

But now, thanks to its popularity, we can associate computers with the word. This lack of word association puts you in a near-guaranteed category of protection.

A trademark attorney can help you understand the strength of potential marks and what level of distinctiveness they have when handed over to the USPTO. Develop brand strength early and trademark protection will always be on your side. Contact Trestle Law today to make sure you are on the right path to creating a protectable brand.

That adage about spending dollars to save pennies applies to many things, including the choice to refuse to hire a lawyer to help you with legal work. With so many inexpensive and fast options available on the internet to do-it-yourself when it comes to legal work, it can be alluring to hop online and just get started.

But, very often, the dirty little secret about online legal help is that you are only getting half of the story. Sometimes, those pennies that you think you are saving can end up costing you more than if you just hired the right legal professional to help you in the first place.

1. You can create a more significant problem for yourself

If you try to complete legal documents on your own without hiring a lawyer to help, you can create a much bigger mess than you know or intended. Failing to have the correct paperwork in order, mistakenly filing something, or just flat-out missing an important provision in an agreement or document can all turn out to be huge mistakes.

Courts (as well as government document processing systems) don’t consider ignorance an excuse if you do something wrong. If you don’t know how to do something – don’t do it! Or, expect to create significant and costly legal problems for yourself.

2. You don’t know how the law applies

There are reasons that lawyers have to go to school to join the profession. There is nothing simple about the law. It is an ever-changing and evolving industry. In order to do things right, you have to know how a law applies, then apply it properly.

If you aren’t certain that what you are drafting or preparing for yourself follows the law, from both a state and federal perspective, you could be inadvertently cutting corners that open you, your company, or both up to potential legal liability.

3. It can be more expensive to “undo” what you tried to do yourself

You probably wouldn’t consider building your home from scratch alone. Chances are, unless you’re a building professional, the foundation you lay would be insufficient to support your house. And once you build it, there is virtually no way to undo what you have done without considerable cost.

The same is true when you are creating a business and you are laying your business’ legal foundation. Whatever you do wrong from a legal standpoint can be extremely harmful to your bottom line. It is way more expensive to try to go back and undo what you did than to do it right the first time.

4. You can create areas of unnecessary exposure when using online legal help

When you don’t have proper documentation, policies, and legal work in order, you are exposing yourself to potential litigation. Not understanding the law means you are far less likely to have crossed all your T’s and dotted all your I’s, which undoubtedly leaves holes in your legal protection.

There is no reason to leave you or your business open to legal issues when you don’t have to. A good business attorney will help identify potential problem areas and help you evaluate the risk associates with those problem areas, so you can make good, solid business decisions.

5. You can miss crucial things you think are “small” at the time

Those things that seem small tend to take on a life of their own. When you are bootstrapping your start-up, it is easy to write-off certain issues like contracts, hiring documents, and formal partnership agreements as “unimportant,” because everything is working now when the business is small. But, just as you expect your business to grow, you can also expect those “small” issues will also grow with your business, leaving you a legal mess and a potential big bill to have a lawyer fix those problems late in the game.

Although there are a vast number of options which allow you to online legal help when it comes to the law, most lawyers don’t recommend doing it yourself. Even simply consulting with a lawyer to help you identify areas of risk that you did not consider is likely to help you more than simply relying on a search engine to give you the answer.

Legal issues are almost always specific to your particular set of facts. Lawyers are trained to apply those laws to the facts to decide how the law will shake out.Don’t leave your company or yourself, vulnerable to problems down the road because you didn’t know the whole story.

If you are considering using online legal help, but want to discuss your intentions with an attorney, contact our lawyers at Trestle Law today to help you identify and roadmap your business’ legal issues. We are licensed in California. Nothing herein constitutes legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. We are not your attorneys until an engagement letter has been executed.

In the age of social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, we are more connected than ever. Smart people have leveraged this connectivity to make themselves highly visible and build incredibly successful businesses. But even smart people are subject to stolen internet content!

First: Identify the Content

I can’t tell you how many times I hear people talk about trademark infringement in connection with a photograph, or wanting to copyright a brand name. In order to protect your intellectual property (and that’s what all of this is), first you have to know what you’re protecting.

A copyright is a form of legal protection that applies to “original works of authorship, fixed in a tangible medium.” Technically, copyright protection is a bundle of rights that does apply to works whether they are registered or unregistered.

On the other hand, trademarks are about source identification as it relates the particular goods and services. Very basically, trademarks apply to words, symbols, phrases, sounds, and sometimes even colors that uniquely identify the source of those goods/services. More simply put, trademarks protect brand names. An example of some famous trademarks are Nike, Google, and Apple.

In the United States, trademarks do not have to be registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to be protected, but registration of your trademark is helpful from a legal standpoint, especially if you have a brand that is exposed on a larger scale. It will enhance your stolen internet content case.

Second: Take the Path of Least Resistance to make a case for stolen internet content

Once you’ve identified the content, figure out how you can get the person stealing from you to stop the fastest. Usually this involves reporting the misappropriated content to the proper social media platforms from which the information is stolen, if social media is where the theft occurred.

These sites typically have forms for reporting infringement that look relatively straightforward. DIYers beware: If you don’t know how to put together the right complaint, or you don’t quite understand the underlying issue (i.e., copyright vs trademark), you could be setting yourself up to have your complaint denied.

Certain content theft is more complicated than others, and the unskilled person may not have the know-how to craft an argument in the way the infringement divisions of the applicable platforms want to see.

Generally, when dealing with trademark matters, certain sites require registration when reporting infringement. It’s also important for some to show that the person committing the theft is truly “passing off” themselves for you to prove that it is a case of stolen internet content.

These sites are concerned about the balance between trademark owners’ rights and the right of users to engage in true competition. This usually requires that you show consumers are likely to be confused between the two accounts.

In cases involving copyright, if the report to the social media sites is unsuccessful, you can also look to file a DMCA takedown notice, or try approaching the infringer via email first to see if they will be amenable to removing the offending content. Again, crafting the argument is the most important part in getting any infringement reported correctly and taken down swiftly.

Third: Get a Lawyer

I think it helps to have a solid intellectual property attorney on your team from the get-go. Sure, it costs a little more than doing everything yourself, but addressing infringement is crucial when it comes to protecting the integrity of your content and brand from stolen internet content.

And let’s face it – that’s how most online social media influencers make their livings. Without good protection, you’re setting yourself up for a mess.

If you think that someone might have stolen property that legally belongs to you, it is recommended consult an attorney. Before you try to deal with a trademark or copyright issue on your own,it is best to cover all your bases by consulting a professional to protect what is legally yours. Contact Trestlelaw.com today to discuss your situation.